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MIT Undergraduate Research Opportunities (UROP)

The MIT Game Lab offers research opportunities during the school year on active research and development projects. Development UROPs are designed to prepare students for the game development workflow and to help them gain familiarity with development tools used in professional game development. MIT undergraduates working with the Game Lab may elect to receive direct or sponsored UROP funding or may choose to receive credit instead. Potential UROPs should be familiar with standard MIT UROP Office procedures and deadlines.
Our Fall and Spring UROPs work 10 hours per week for pay or credit on active research, game and tool development. It is the perfect opportunity to exercise the skills needed to be a game developer within the timeframe of an already busy semester.
Interested MIT undergraduates of any major should join our UROP announcement mailing list and contact Rik Eberhardt (gamelab-request@mit.edu) with the following information:

Statement of interest - game development or game research?

What role you are interested in (game research, programming, game design, art, audio, production, quality assurance)

Skills you bring to the UROP

your current class schedule and available hours

Resume

Research Assistantships for CMS Graduate Students

Research Assistantships allow CMS graduate students, through the CMS research groups, to engage in the current environment of profound media change by working on real-world problems and meeting specific production goals.

At the Game Lab, this means each year two or three graduate students:

Support faculty and postdoc research projects, gather data, write papers, and collaborate with other universities

Blog, help run events, and speak to the public about games

Lead and/or work as part of game development teams of undergraduates

Recommend and catalog game purchases for the lab

Together, RAships enhance and enlarge the theoretical and historical aspects of CMS coursework.
To be considered for a research assistantship with the Game Lab, simply indicate your interest in your Statement of Objectives, part of the CMS application.

Visiting Scholars

If you are an academic scholar or industry veteran looking for an environment in which to conduct self-directed research in games, we invite you to spend your sabbatical months with us at the MIT Game Lab. The research and development community of the lab is open and friendly and as part of the Visiting Scholars program, you will be able to take advantage of MIT facilities and services. Visiting Scholars will be invited to join in our regular research seminars, to share their research with faculty, staff, and students, and to collaborate on projects in the lab.
Research topics the MIT Game Lab is interested in include, but are not limited to, game design, use and play of games in various communities, and sports research.

Visiting Scholars at Comparative Media Studies are expected to:

Stay at CMS for one term, or for at least three months during the term,